WQXR Presents 2015 Marilyn Horne Song Competition Winners

Friday, March 11, 2016

7:00 PM

Come hear tomorrow’s stars today! Baritone Benjamin Dickerson and pianist Alden Gatt are the most recent winners of the Marilyn Horne Song Competition, and they’ll be stopping by The Greene Space to perform and talk about their competition experiences. WQXR's Nimet Habachy hosts.

Legendary mezzo Marilyn Horne will also be on hand to talk about her illustrious career and role in the competition, and we’ll have a special performance from Metropolitan Opera singer and former competition winner Isabel Leonard.

Founded in 2000 by the Marilyn Horne Foundation, the Marilyn Horne Song Competition, a program of the Music Academy of the West, is one of the most prestigious and valuable singing competitions in the United States. Previous Marilyn Horne Song Competition winners, including Met Opera star Isabel Leonard, are performing leading and featured roles in major opera houses around the globe. In the United States, winners have performed at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera and Los Angeles Opera, among others.

Video Webcast

Benjamin Dickerson, 22, born in San Antonio, Texas, is an undergraduate at the Manhattan School of Music, where he studies with Ruth Golden. In 2015, Mr. Dickerson performed the title role of "Don Giovanni" under the baton of Kenneth Merrill at Manhattan School of Music, as well as the role of Gustl in Lehár’s "Das Land des Lächelns." Last season, Mr. Dickerson covered the role of Dandini at Green Mountain Opera Festival and performed as soloist in Francois Joseph Gossec’s rarely performed "Messa di Requiem" with the Burlington Choral Society. Recent roles include Ben from "The Telephone," Figaro from "Le nozze di Figaro," Gaudenzio from "Il Signor Bruschino," Ottone from "L’Incoronazione di Poppea," and Papageno and Sprecher from "Die Zauberflöte."

Alden Gatt, 27, born in Naples, Florida, is a New York City-based pianist and conductor. Gatt is a sought-after coach and accompanist, Music Director of New York Opera Exchange, vocal coach at New Jersey City University, and he appears on stage frequently as a soloist and collaborator. Mr. Gatt attended the Eastman School of Music, studying with Barry Snyder. Having lived in Beijing for a year during high school, he also minored in Chinese at the University of Rochester. Mr. Gatt began his musical training at age eight and won top awards in many local and regional piano competitions, including the Turiel Prize in the Naples Music Club. He won the Southwest Florida Concerto Competition in 2006 and performed Prokofiev’s First Piano Concerto with the Southwest Florida Symphony.